- Flower Tips-

Many people are often frustrated by how short-lived a bouquet may be once they get it home. They may forget that fresh cut flowers are still living and they can be encouraged to last much longer under the right conditions. The following tips will help make your flowers last longer.

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1. Trim at least a half inch of stem off your flowers before you put them in a vase and each time you change the water.

As flowers sit out of water on your ride home, the ends of the stem dry out and the cells die, making it difficult for the flowers to absorb water. By cutting the stems just before placing them in water again, you expose fresh tissue that can suck up the water much more efficiently. Trim stems when you change the water in the vase a few days later, you remove tissue at the tips that may be breaking down and once again expose fresh tissue that absorbs more water.

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2. Use sharp scissors when cutting.

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If you use dull old scissors or snips to trim your flowers, you are often smashing, and thus damaging, the tissue/cells at the end of the stem. Damaged cells can’t absorb water as effectively as healthy cells.

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3. Replenish the water frequently. Change the water entirely every 2-3 days.

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Flowers drink a lot of water! It is not uncommon for a large flower arrangement to suck up all the water in a vase within the first day or two you have it at home. Keep the vase full to ensure the flowers do not dry out and wilt. Flowers are also highly susceptible to bacteria that builds up as stems sit in the water. By changing the water in the vase every few days, even if the water hasn’t been used up, will help keep your flowers fresh longer (and avoid that horrid rotten smell that develops if you let them sit a long time). For large formal arrangements, carefully tip the vase over a sink to let the water drain without disturbing the design. Then re-fill the vase by gently pouring water in at the top of the flowers.

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4. Keep your flowers away from heat and bright light.

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Cut flowers should be set out of direct sunlight. They are at their peak of perfection. Sun and heat will encourage them to “mature” and thus quicken their demise. Instead, keep your cut flowers in a cooler, less lit location. This will help them to last as longer.

Ripening fruit gives off an odorless invisible gas called ethylene. This gas is harmless to humans, but rather deadly to flowers. When you set your vase of flowers next to ripening fruit, you’re exposing them to this gas and they will die much quicker.

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6. After you throw out your arrangement, be sure to wash the vase/container very thoroughly in hot soapy water or in your dishwasher.

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Bacteria builds up in dirty vases and does not go away just because the vase dries out. As soon as you add water again, the vase will once again be full of bacteria and your new bouquet will be subjected to the same bacteria that killed the last bouquet. Give your flowers a fresh clean environment free of bacteria and they will last much longer.

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7. Use “flower food” for most flowers.

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Adding flower food packets that come with packaged flowers is beneficial to the flowers. This is especially true if you won’t be changing your flowers’ water regularly. In addition to “feeding” the bouquet, these food packets contain a bactericide that keeps the water fresh for a day or two longer. You can make your own flower food by adding about 1 teaspoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and a 1 teaspoon of bleach to your vase before adding about a quart of warm tap water. It is worth noting that there are a few flowers that actually do NOT like flower food in the vase. Some of these are: zinnias, sunflowers and gladiolus.

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8. Hydrangea and other "woody stem" care.

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Hydrangeas and other woody stemmed flowers/foliage can last a long time in the vase if properly cared for. Always cut the woody stem at an angle. It's also helpful to cut a slit vertically up the stem, about an inch, to expose more surface for water to be soaked in. Cut an inch off of the stem each time you change the water to expose fresh tissue, once again cutting at an angle, as well as the vertical slit. Hydrangeas also benefit from a daily misting.

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